‘Will not run behind India to play cricket series with us’ Ramiz Raja
Lahore: Newly-appointed chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has categorically said that Pakistan will not run behind arch-rival India to play bilateral cricket.
The 59-year-old Ramiz addressed for the first time after he was elected unopposed as the chairman earlier today. Ramiz opined on different matters in an hour-long press conference at the National High-Performance Center (NHPC) in Lahore.
“We will not run behind India to play series with us,” Ramiz answered. “Immediate series talks with India is impossible as due to politics, sporting event is damaged. Our main focus is to address problems at the domestic, club and school level,” he added.
Ramiz furious on non-availability of DRS in PAKvNZ ODI series
On the other hand, Ramiz was furious after the ODI series between Pakistan and New Zealand were not part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League due to unavailability of DRS.
“I was also hurt after I got to know this. It is quite a mess and there is no denial on this, I will talk on this and determine who is responsible,” he added.
Misbah, Waqar’s resignation
Ramiz emphasized that he was not behind the removal of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis as coaches because it happened during the previous tenure.
“The decision to accept the resignations of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis was taken by the previous board but If I had talked to them, I would have talked to them on these lines too,” he added.
Increase in monthly retainers of domestic players
Ramiz Raja announced 192 cricketers with domestic contracts will see an increase of PKR100,000 in monthly retainers across all rungs.
This means that domestic men’s cricketers in the 2021-22 season, which begins with the Cricket Associations T20, the Second XI competition, from 15 September at the Quetta’s Bugti Stadium, will now earn between PKR140,000 to PKR250,000 per month, which is an increase of 250 per cent for the players in the D category, the lowest category.
“It is our duty to care for our cricketers and continue to take measures which strengthen our system,” Ramiz said. “This will also play a role in ending any uncertainty surrounding the current cricket structure; the welfare of present and former cricketers is paramount to me.”
Announcement of U19 T20 league
In a bid to further strengthen the age-group structure and ensure that young cricketers are fully equipped for the modern-day cricket, Mr Ramiz Raja announced plans to launch an U19 T20 league to develop cricketers from the nascent stages.
“We need to develop an environment in which we generate professional cricketers at young level,” he said. “This will help the Pakistan Super League franchises as well, who are on the lookout for youngsters. I would like the former greats to coach them. We need to give push to the age-group cricketers so they can excel in the sport from the early age.”
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